Anesthesia as a specialty in veterinary medicine was developed in the early 1960’s when it became clear that special attention was required to the patient’s condition during the administration of anesthetic agents.
The University of Pennsylvania was one of the first veterinary hospitals to have anesthesia as a special department, with Drs. Larry Soma and Alan Klide as pioneers in the field.
Over the past ten years, several of our nurses were instrumental in the development of the certification process for specialized veterinary nurse anesthetists. The Anesthesia Service of the Ryan Veterinary Hospital is a subsection of the Critical Care Service, along with the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Service, and we collaborate with numerous clinical services at Penn Vet, including Emergency/Critical Care, Dentistry & Oral Surgery, Neurology, Oncology, Radiology, and Surgery.